The dispenser disclosed herein relates generally to the field of materials discharged from a container with a pump, and particularly to control of the quantity of material discharged by a dispenser.
Dispensers are known that include a pump for discharging material, such as soap, hand sanitizer, or lotion, from a pouch or other container. Such dispensers for soap are commonly found, for example, mounted to walls in restrooms of restaurants, commercial offices, and other buildings. Such dispensers for hand sanitizer are found in many other areas of buildings. In mechanically actuated dispensers, the pump may be actuated by a handle at the lower end of the dispenser, and the material is discharged at an outlet from the pump proximate to the bottom of the dispenser. However, conventional dispensers lack the ability to control or vary the amount of material discharged. Differences in applications and locations of use may make it desirable to increase or decrease the default amount discharged from the pump. For example, a restroom in a restaurant may have a different need for quantity of soap than an automotive repair shop. Further, different materials may have different viscosities, and depending on pump design, one stroke of a pump for a thin material may discharge more material than the same stroke of a thick material. The difference in viscosities of soap and sanitizer, or even within the same categories of materials, may result in different quantities being discharged from the same pump.
An improved dispenser that allows selection and varying of the quantity of material to be discharged is desired.